May 23, 2016
Fishing scandal a stink on us all
The bewildering revelations by Newshub of the massive overfishing of our precious sea food and the apparent collusion with the Ministry of Primary Industries have dumped the stench of rotten fish upon us all.
Recreational fishermen and local Maori are forced to jump through hoops for their catch, yet here we have huge companies committing grotesque wastage for almost 50 years and the Ministry supposed to police it actually enabling it!
Where is the accountability and punishment handed out to these companies for what they have been doing? How can those doing the least damage to our fisheries be the ones who bear the full focus of punishment?
The response from the industry has been immature, belittling and childish. The Seafood NZ chief executive has called the report 'highly politicised', written by 'activist academics' and 'green imperialists'. Such juvenile comments do nothing whatsoever to ease concerns that the industry has been causing massive damage to our fishery stocks and that the Ministry has allowed them to do it.
We are facing traumatic environmental change from global warming, our natural resources need a sustainable hand currently missing from the fishing industry and those charged with policing it.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.co.nz
Waatea 5th Estate
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